TOM ASPINALL: Eddie Hearn Is Right - UFC Fighters Deserve More

Summary

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Great Company with Jamie Laing

Episode: TOM ASPINALL: Eddie Hearn Is Right – UFC Fighters Deserve More

Date: July 21, 2026
Guest: Tom Aspinall, UFC Heavyweight Champion
Host: Jamie Laing

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Brief Overview

This episode features an in-depth, candid interview with Tom Aspinall, the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Jamie and Tom cover Tom’s fighting journey, his struggles with fear and injury, the realities of fighter pay, coping with his son's autism diagnosis, family life, and personal growth. The conversation is open, humorous, and often inspiring, offering a rare glimpse behind the toughness of a world champion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Reality of Fear in Fighting

• Fighters experience fear regardless of bravado:

  • Tom dispels the myth that professional fighters are fearless:

  "Trust me when I tell you, fighters get scared. It's f***ing scary, man... The harder fight would be against myself and trying to convince myself, like, yeah, I'm not scared. That's never going to go away." (00:04)

  • He emphasizes that accepting and processing fear is crucial:

  "I would rather just say, yeah, I'm pretty scared here. Like, I'm pretty nervous. And I feel like once I accept that, it helps me.” (11:01)

• Role of Mentality:

  • He shares advice passed on from legend Georges St-Pierre (GSP):

  "Once he realized that's not going to go away—you've got to use it to help you—then it all changed... That conversation changed my whole outlook on it all." (11:41)

Dealing with Injury and Criticism

• Severe eye injury during fight with Ciryl Gane:

  • Tom recounts the trauma and aftermath of being poked in both eyes, resulting in surgeries and temporary blindness.

  "I've never had anything like it. My vision was just completely gone. In one eye, nothing. It was just completely black for about four weeks. It was probably the scariest experience in my life." (14:27)

• Online backlash:

  • He faced accusations of “ducking” fights, even after providing medical proof.

  "I can't win here... A lot of MMA fans are just knuckleheads, and that's just the way it is." (17:53)

Fighter Pay and Eddie Hearn

• Working with Eddie Hearn and fighter compensation:

  • Tom has teamed up with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom to advocate for fair fighter pay.

  “Eddie really cares about fighters getting what they're worth, and I want to get what I'm worth. I want to maximize my opportunity while I'm fighting as much as possible.” (19:10)

  • On UFC’s pay structure:

  “If you're risking your health, you should get paid the absolute maximum possible, is what I think... But for fighters, there's only one place to go really, if you want to be the best in the world.” (20:14, 20:35)

  • On hypothetical big-money fights:

  “If someone wants to pay me that, I'm absolutely down... I’d fight three people for that at the same time.” (20:59, 21:06)

Early Life, Family & Philosophy

• Fighting roots and upbringing:

  • Training since age 10, mentored by his father (one of UK’s first jiu jitsu black belts), Tom emphasizes the understated grind behind his apparent “overnight” success.

  “People see success, but success takes years to make... They just see you now, but don’t see the years of training, commitment, and sacrifice you have to go through.” (29:43)

  • Discusses muscle memory, physical/technical development, and how being the “small guy” first (he grew tall later) forced him to master technique:

  "When I was small, I wasn’t very physical at all, so I had to learn the right way, technique... That helped me in the long term." (27:10)

• Parenting and autism:

  • Open about personal challenges around one of his twins’ autism diagnosis.

  “We tried to get him diagnosed on the NHS, right? We've still not been for appointment, and it was five years ago.” (42:31)

  • On the struggle to obtain support and the importance of speaking openly:

  “Families desperately need help... But what can help is the day to day life of the families can make it a lot easier for everybody, including the child or adult to help them like navigate through life. And they're just not getting it.” (44:50)

  • The journey from denial to acceptance, and the stigma around labels/disability:

  "I used to look at autism in a different way—like a disability, which I guess it is class[ed]... But it’s not about putting a label on somebody. It’s about getting people the help that they need." (45:34)

  • On family and the role of his wife:

  “She’s the kindest person I’ve ever met. But... if something’s not serving her happiness... she can just cut them off. I’ve got a lot of respect for that." (49:15)

Balancing Success, Family, and Mental Health

• Parenting vs. being champion:

  • Tom candidly says raising children is at least as challenging as being a UFC champion.

  "Raising kids is not easy... If you like, care about raising them properly. I think it's really hard... that’s my most important project in life." (33:34)

  • He discusses the necessity for personal fulfillment as a parent:

  "If I wasn't chasing success, I wouldn't be the person at home that I am now because I would feel unfulfilled... So I'm better at home with them, if that makes sense." (35:08)

• Presence and technology:

  • Struggles with “being present”, distraction via phones, and efforts to improve:

  "Sometimes I’m just not present enough, man. I've got to be better... leaving the phone upstairs." (37:14)

Reflections on Fame, Legacy & Motivation

• Experience of public/fan attention:

  • Adjusting to fame and being recognized:

  “People are just like, hanging over the side to touch you... If I was walking out like that and didn’t have to fight somebody at the end of it, I would be having the time of my life.” (55:41, 56:59)

• Relief of victory:

  • Deepest feeling after a fight is relief, not always elation:

  "Relief is the only feeling... Relief that it's not me on the floor... That's the best way I can describe it.” (59:51)

• On legacy and motivation:

  "My main, main, main goal was to buy a house... Obviously, being the best in the world, but that came secondary... I want my kids to be able to look at me and think, like, yeah, that was my dad who did that." (62:08)

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Notable Quotes

• On fear and honesty in fighting:

  "Fighters get scared. They might not say it... People sit in front of cameras all the time and say, yeah, I'm not scared... All the stuff that everybody else says is you blagging your way to trying to convince yourself that that's what's going on." — Tom Aspinall (10:17)

• On UFC pay and worth:

  “If you're risking your health, you should get paid the absolute maximum possible." — Tom Aspinall (20:14)

• On coping with backlash after injury:

  “A lot of MMA fans are just knuckleheads, and that's just the way it is.” — Tom Aspinall (18:31)

• About his wife:

  "She is the kindest person I’ve ever met... If someone isn’t coming with the right energy, she can just cut them off." — Tom Aspinall (49:15)

• On parenting and legacy:

  "My most important project in life is to try and make my kids as good as possible." — Tom Aspinall (34:12)

• On success:

  “Anybody with any success respects everybody else who's got any kind of success as well." — Tom Aspinall (30:04)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Fighting Fear & Mental Preparation: 00:04–12:11
• Eye Injury Against Gane & Handling Criticism: 14:02–18:31
• Eddie Hearn, UFC Pay, and Fighter Value: 18:31–21:06
• Early Life, Training, and Influence of His Father: 22:56–27:29
• Family, Parenting, and Autism Journey: 33:24–48:38
• Navigating Fame, Big Fights, and Relief of Victory: 54:32–60:10
• Legacy, Motivation, and Future Plans: 62:06–64:24
• “The Inner Game” Podcast Discussion: 64:46–65:51
• Quickfire Questions – Personality & Reflections: 66:28–73:01

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Memorable Moments

• Food Debate: Tom and Jamie’s lively debate over pasties vs. pies and “Wigan kebabs” reveals Tom’s down-to-earth Northern humor.

  “I can't believe pie is, like, shaped like this. Right, yeah.” — Tom (06:28)

• Big Compliment From His Wife:

  “She said, when you're around, I feel safer. That's the best compliment that anyone could ever give me. I'm a big softy, aren't I?" (66:57)

• On “Snog/Marry/Avoid” UFC Edition:

  “I'm gonna avoid all of them. I don't want to be close to any of them." — Tom Aspinall (72:57)

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Podcast Tone and Takeaways

Throughout, Tom maintains a grounded, self-deprecating, honest, and thoughtful tone, demystifying the psychological and real-life struggles behind a champion’s image. Jamie draws out personal stories with humor and warmth, resulting in a rich, accessible exploration of success, resilience, and what truly matters.

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For further listening: Tom's new podcast “The Inner Game” (co-hosted with Charlie)—interviewing successful people across fields about motivation, mindset, and handling fear and anxiety (65:51).

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Transcript

[Interviewer]

When you walk out into the ring and there's a big crowd, what is that feeling like?

[Tom Aspinall]

Trust me when I tell you, fighters get scared. It's f cking scary, man. And all the stuff that everybody else says, it's bullshit. I've seen people nearly passing out because they're so scared. Like, I used to have, like, two fights. One fight would be against my opponent, but the harder fight would be, like, against myself and trying to convince myself, like, yeah, I'm not scared. That's never going to go away. I'm Tom Aspinall, and I'm in great company.

[Interviewer]

The UFC heavyweight champion of the heavyweight champion of the world. We've got to talk about Eddie Hearn, because you just signed with Eddie's agency, Matchroom.

[Tom Aspinall]

Eddie really cares about fighters getting what they're worth, and I want to get what I'm worth. I want to maximize my opportunity while I'm fighting as much as possible.

[Interviewer]

But there is this narrative that the UFC don't pay their fighters well enough. You don't have to say you. But if there's a UFC champion and it's a championship fight, what are kind of paychecks that they're looking at in the ufc?

[Tom Aspinall]

Would you want actual numbers?

[Interviewer]

I would love it.

[Tom Aspinall]

In between.

[Interviewer]

And what I love is that you're. So you were open about your son's autism.

[Tom Aspinall]

So we had my twins. We started noticing that, like, one was a little bit slower than the other was. Stuff just by chance, Paddy McGuinness watched his documentary about autism. Paddy's got three kids that have got autism. And honestly, I could have been finishing the sentences for Paddy and his wife, really. We tried to get him diagnosed on the nhs, right?

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

We've still not been for appointment, and it was five years ago. You know, there's good and bad situations in Olive, but you gotta try and make the best of it. I think I'm a big softie, aren't I? I'm a big softie.

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Interviewer]

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Interviewer]

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[Tom Aspinall]

Steven here has not read Mistborn before.

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[Interviewer]

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Interviewer]

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Interviewer]

guys. Welcome back to great company. So excited for today's episode because I'm a huge UFC fan. We have the heavyweight champion of the world, UFC fighter Tom Aspinall on the show. Man, this episode goes all over the place. We talk about so many different things. I cannot wait for you to listen. Okay, before we start, I just want to ask one quick favor. If you can please subscribe to our show, click that button. It's completely for free and it takes one second. It means you join our incredible community, and it keeps making our show better and better, and we keep getting better guests. Just for you guys. You can do that one thing. Thank you so much. Enjoy this huge episode of Great Company with UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Before we start, I've got something for you to try. Okay, you're from Wigan.

[Tom Aspinall]

That's up for debate. Yeah, it's up for debate. Okay, it's up for debate.

[Interviewer]

Well, this top bit doesn't work then, if it's up for debate, but it

[Tom Aspinall]

seems like food, so I'm definitely going to try it. That's got to be food in there, isn't it?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah. No, it's a little bird that I've. Wait, where are you? If you're not from Wigan, where are you from?

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, it's all a bit subjective, so, like, it's from. I won't even bore you with the details. Listen, it's so boring for anyone who's not from that area. But, like, we don't really claim Wigan from where I'm from. It's more like Manchester area. It's just a big mess.

[Interviewer]

So. So you wouldn't know what a Wigan cabana.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yes, of course I would.

[Interviewer]

Okay, so can you explain?

[Tom Aspinall]

It's a pie. So it's a. You do it with bread or a balm being a roll.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

What do you call it?

[Interviewer]

I would call it a bread roll.

[Tom Aspinall]

Bread roll, yeah. So you get like a bread roll.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Put a pie in the middle, eats it.

[Interviewer]

It's just crazy.

[Tom Aspinall]

Have you tried it, though? It does work.

[Interviewer]

I haven't. So I've got you. I've got you here.

[Tom Aspinall]

Depends what pie we're talking, though.

[Interviewer]

Well, I'll tell you what, I've got you. I've got you a.

[Tom Aspinall]

That's a pasty, though.

[Interviewer]

What? What's the difference between. It's a pie.

[Tom Aspinall]

That's a pasty.

[Interviewer]

How do you know it's a pasty? From looking?

[Tom Aspinall]

Because I've got eyes that work.

[Interviewer]

How do you. What's the difference between a pasty and.

[Tom Aspinall]

These are completely different.

[Interviewer]

Hang on a second. This is.

[Tom Aspinall]

That is a pasty, isn't it? Okay, it's a pasty.

[Interviewer]

Tell me the difference between a pasty.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, that's pasty balm. It's not a wig and kebab.

[Interviewer]

What's different? They're both in pastry with meat in it or whatever it is.

[Tom Aspinall]

But the shape is completely different. Like, look, let me do a sniff test on the. I don't think it's even meat and potato, is it? Let's have a look. Oh, yeah, it is me. It's like a steak pasta.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So. So a pasta is a different shape.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. I can't believe pie is, like, shaped like this. Right, yeah.

[Interviewer]

Okay, hang on. What. What determines a pie?

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, I don't. I don't know the logistics of it. I just know the difference between them.

[Interviewer]

I would say a pie is basically like something wrapped in pastry.

[Tom Aspinall]

No, that's a. That's definite pasty. 100%.

[Interviewer]

What? This is not even a wig and kebab.

[Tom Aspinall]

No, it's not. Looks good, though, to be fair.

[Interviewer]

You want to try a bite?

[Tom Aspinall]

I'll have a bite.

[Interviewer]

I'll have a bite. After you. So this is what you. This is what you get after a night out. You have it for tea. What do you. Look at that.

[Tom Aspinall]

It's a good pasty, to be fair. It's not bad.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Tom Aspinall]

I weren't sure what to expect.

[Interviewer]

I'm going to go the other end of it. Here we go.

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, it's quite nice, actually.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

All right.

[Interviewer]

I mean, there's a lot of yeast.

[Tom Aspinall]

It's a bit dry, to be honest.

[Interviewer]

I grew up, like, I'm a huge sports fan, right? Huge, massive. And I got into sort of combat sport when I was like. So I used to judo from, like, a very young age, never to, like, a high standard. I got, like a blue belt, whatever it was. But I've always had a fascination with boxing. Used to love boxing more than anything when it was like, Lennox Lewis and people like that, Right. Especially that era. Then I got into UFC and watching that, and when I first became understanding of it that, wait, this. This sport out there doesn't really have any rules and you can fight in this cage and it was kind of amazing and unbelievable. So sit next to the heavyweight champion of the world, man.

[Tom Aspinall]

Good. Well, mate, I'm happy to be here.

[Interviewer]

When you first went into your first cage fight, what was going through your head?

[Tom Aspinall]

I remember it well, actually. It was at the nightclub called the Oceania in Wolverhampton.

[Interviewer]

Man.

[Tom Aspinall]

Let's go.

[Interviewer]

I love an Oceana.

[Tom Aspinall]

And why was it in an ocean? I have no idea. And so I think I was, like, 18 at the time. Yeah. And somehow, like, Wolverhampton felt, like, somewhat exotic because it was like, 90 minutes away from home was like, oh, this is a. This is a big trip.

[Interviewer]

This is a good big city.

[Tom Aspinall]

The lights and yeah, it all felt pretty normal, to be honest, because I'd already like. So it's. Mixed martial arts is the name of our sport that involves, obviously a mix of martial arts that involves boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, karate, judo, grappling jiu jitsu, all these different stuff. And I'd already pretty much competed in all of it growing up anyway.

[Interviewer]

Every single one.

[Tom Aspinall]

Pretty much like, give or take. I'd competed in nearly everything. So by the time I was like 18 or 17, however old I was when I had my first fight, it was pretty obvious that that's what I was gonna do. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Is it nerve wracking that first actual fight or not really, or it's just like, this is like my training. I'm just going in.

[Tom Aspinall]

No, it's nerve wracking. Of course it is. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

But talk with it because, like. So I meet you today, right? This is the first time we've met and I see it doesn't feel like you'd be scared by much or intimidated by that many people. That's the sort of like you have this, this sort of. And the guys were saying it, you know, you have this sort of really like great energy where you, you're comfortable to talk to, but also you feel. I. I feel like if I was married to you, I'd be super protected. That's what I feel like.

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't know how to take that, to be honest. I don't know. Just let me process that for a minute before I say thanks.

[Interviewer]

So I don't understand how when you, you would. I don't understand how fear would come from you. That's. That's what I'm trying to get.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, well, it does. It definitely does.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I can't think of much scarier than having to fight somebody. Yeah, it's scary, man.

[Interviewer]

The most refreshing thing I've, like, I've. I've heard, because I think most fighters, what you see is that they're going into it. I'm not scared, I'm not worried. Who cares about this? Yeah, I'm ready for this. But there can't be anything scarier than going into an organized fight with someone who's also another killer.

[Tom Aspinall]

Do you know what I see? I see a lot of fighters talking about that on interviews and stuff. Listen, I've been in. I've been in changing rooms and locker rooms or whatever you want to call I've been backstage at home events all my life.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Trust me when I tell you, fighters get scared. They might not say it. Hey, I've seen people throw. I've seen people nearly passing out because they're so scared. Seeing people throwing up on multiple occasions because they don't. Yeah, because they're not scared. So, yeah, people sit in front of cameras all the time and say, yeah, I'm not scared. It's this, you know, it's been the best training of my life, and I want to take you out in the first round. And all the stuff that everybody else says is. Is you blagging your way to trying to convince yourself that that's what's going on.

[Interviewer]

So how much is it mentality where you're trying to trick yourself not to be like that?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, a lot. A lot. And that's fine. Like, if that's your approach, like, fair play. I found that the opposite works better for me, is, like, I would rather just say, yeah, I'm. I'm just pretty. Pretty scared here. Like, I'm pretty nervous. And I feel like once I accept that, it helps me in a way. Like, yeah, I just feel like it helps me because I say it a lot. Like, I used to have, like, two fights. One fight would be against my opponent, but the harder fight would be, like, against myself. In trying to convince myself, like, yeah, I'm not scared. I don't wanna. I'm not nervous. And, like, that's never gonna go away. That I accepted, like, quite a long time ago. Are you familiar with a guy called gsp? In my opinion, the greatest UFC fight of all time. Well, he actually spoke to me about it personally, and he told me that once he realized, like, that's not going to go away. You've got to use it, like, to help you, then it all changed. And, like, he said it way more articulately than I just said it. He said it over, like, 10 minutes. Explained to me how he deals with it, how he accepts it, how he makes it work for him and stuff. And, yeah, that. That conversation changed my whole outlook on it all.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Do you know what? I had a big moment, so. And I spoke a lot about on the show, right? I had, like, anxiety a lot, like, in my 20s. I just didn't understand it. Right. I just had anxiety within me, and I spoke to a therapist finally, who said, I just wish you could accept it. I just accept it. Accept that you just have this anxiety. And I went, no, I'm not gonna accept it. That's not me. I can't accept it. And as soon as I accepted it, it was like this road to freedom. And it's weird that once we start accepting things and I'm accepting that we're fearful, accepting that we're, like, scared to have kids or become a dad or scared that we're gonna be. It kind of. It sets you free.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Something that I should actually. Just even listening to you say that, I should actually maybe think about it more, because I think all the time we're trying to perceive ourselves as something like, I don't want to be scared. I don't want to. Whatever the emotion is, I don't want to be embarrassed if I do sometimes. Maybe we should just talk about it more. Maybe that'll help.

[Interviewer]

Dude, there was the Austin Butler, the actor. Do you know who? Austin Butler.

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't think so.

[Interviewer]

Okay. He played Elvis. And he then. Anyway, he. I just. This quote from him was phenomenal that I heard. He said that embarrassment is an emotion that we don't explore.

[Tom Aspinall]

I've seen the quote I've seen on Instagram. It keeps popping up. Algorithm.

[Interviewer]

But it's true. He says, embarrassment is an emotion that we need to explore more deeply or whatever it is. Which is so true, because we don't explore it, because we're so worried about those things. But what hearing from you, the ufc, you know, heavyweight champion of the world, saying that you're scared to go into the ring, that will make other fighters, other people in life, go, he's scared. I'm okay to feel that.

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, I think people get it confused. Like, it's a fear, but it's not a fear to the point where I don't want to do it.

[Interviewer]

Sure.

[Tom Aspinall]

Obviously, there's points of me that are definitely like, what are you doing? Don't. But I feel like that's just quite natural. Do you know, like, if you're on a roller coaster, right. And you're about to. Like, you're on the bit that drops down.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Like, you're definitely scared, but it's the great feeling at the same time. And that's, like, kind of the way I feel when I'm going to fight. He's like, I'm definitely scared, but it's going to happen, so let's try and enjoy it.

[Interviewer]

We need to talk about your last fight against Seragane.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I watched the fight. There was an eye poke.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

That happened. You went down.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

What is your memory of that moment?

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, I got poked in both eyes.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. Not. Not. Yeah. I won't recommend it. It's not very fun. Absolutely. Not very fun. Yeah. Just. So I got poked in both eyes.

[Interviewer]

How deep did it go?

[Tom Aspinall]

It was. It just. I've never had anything like it. Never had anything like it? Yeah, Both eyes. And my vision was just completely gone. In one eye, nothing. It was just completely black for about four weeks. And it was probably the scariest experience in my life. It was horrendous.

[Interviewer]

What are your eyes like now?

[Tom Aspinall]

Really good, actually. I've had three surgeries. I had one on the left and two on the right, by the way. I've had the snip, right? I've had a vasectomy. And I was thinking, like, that is gonna be the worst surgery ever, mate, compared to eye surgery, he's nothing. Honestly. Honestly? Yeah, he's horrendous.

[Interviewer]

Honestly.

[Tom Aspinall]

They lay awake, so they kept me awake.

[Interviewer]

Oh, they're going in.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, so I'm lay awake, right? They put something on, like, to keep your eyeball open like that, and obviously they numb it and stuff.

[Interviewer]

Where does the numbing to get into your eye?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, yeah, they numb your eye.

[Interviewer]

They inject your eye.

[Tom Aspinall]

So they did, like, drops and then did an injection on the side. And, mate, they're coming at you with, like, a scalpel or a knife or whatever it's called, and you're just watching them slice your eyeball open. You're just like, what? He's got it. Wait. It was horrendous. It was horrible. I don't want to do that again.

[Interviewer]

Was there moments where you thought you weren't gonna see again?

[Tom Aspinall]

At first, mate, I was super scared about it, to be honest. Yeah, the first. Especially, like, the first two weeks. Yeah, I was really scared about it.

[Interviewer]

It would be scary. That would be 100% without a doubt. Because I remember watching it. And I think the heartbreaking thing as a fan of yours, right, was that you go down and you. You're just like, I can't.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And then there's this, like, backlash and.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, but, mate, you. You got to understand, right? This is something that I've learned to understand. Like, the hard way. When you're fighting somebody, you're just Saturday night entertainment. That's it. So, like, if. If you're not in that fight, then people are going to root against you. And that's the way. That's the way it is. It's. It's a bad situation. But I can't expect millions of people to care for me personally. Like, they want to see me have a fight with Somebody, because that's what they paid. That's what they paid for. And it's. And it's harsh and it's not very nice, but that's what it is.

[Interviewer]

And what comments do you get afterwards?

[Tom Aspinall]

I still get comments like, oh, he ducked out the fight, he didn't want to be there, and stuff like that. But, mate, a lot of MMA fans have also never had a fight in their life, and I don't expect them to understand what it takes to get to where I've got to. It's just as simple as that. And you don't see many fighters coming out and saying it. Do you know what I mean? It's always like, people who've never had a fight, you're going to comment on the toughness. You're going to sit behind your phone and comment on the toughness of, like, a professional MMA fighter, then you don't really know what you're talking about. Do you know what I mean? And I've had to learn the hard way because I got a lot of backlash and stuff. It was weird because obviously I got the eye poke and everything, and then I found out that, like, I was gonna. I needed surgery and I got a whole diagnosis on it and everything, and I was getting a lot of backlash. And I thought, right, if I get like, a doctor's note together and post that, that that'll just like. And mate everyone. Then I posted everyone's just like, yeah, fake doctors note, did it on chat gps. And I'm just like, I can't win here. I'm just gon say anything else about it then. And have you ever in your life

[Interviewer]

ducked out of a fight?

[Tom Aspinall]

No, mate, It's. It's mad because the UFC matchmakers, right, I'm, like, renowned for just saying yeah to everything. Like, I, like when I won the interim title in New York, they. I was literally hung over when they rung me because I just come back from a stag do. I was outrageously out of shape. That's why I come in with, like, love handles and everything. And the fight was in two weeks. Fighting, like, the scariest guy in the division at the time. So no, absolutely not. But you're never gonna, like. A lot of MMA fans are just knuckleheads, and that's just the way it is.

[Interviewer]

We've got to talk about Eddie Hearn. Oh, yeah, because you just signed with Eddie's agency, Matchroom.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yep.

[Interviewer]

Amazing. What Eddie's done is impressive.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, I think so, too.

[Interviewer]

Super impressive. And I think you guys aligned Feels really exciting. And he's. Now, he's got a lot of beef with Dana White.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And he's come out and said, I've got a quote. I would like Dana White to release Tom Aspinall from his UFC contract, and I will guarantee Dana White that I will pay Tom a minimum, perhaps five times more, but a minimum of three times more what Dana White's paying him. Dana White should be happy about the offer because Tom Aspel is very unhappy.

[Tom Aspinall]

Do you want me to react to that? Yeah. Right. Eddie. So I wanted to, like, extend my team a little bit. Eddie's now part of my team in that sense, and Eddie really cares. Like, him and my dad work together. My dad's still my manager. Eddie, like, kind of advises me on stuff and does stuff commercially for me as well. Eddie really cares about fighters getting what they're worth, and I want to get what I'm worth. Do you know what I mean? And, yeah, that's what I want to do. I want. I want to maximize my opportunity while I'm fighting as much as possible. So Eddie and my dad are working together. Not just Eddie, but all of Matchroom are working together with my dad on that kind of stuff.

[Interviewer]

Look at them. I know you probably can't be that open, and look, if you want to bypass this question totally, fine. But there is this narrative that the UFC don't pay their fighters well enough.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

What is your view on that?

[Tom Aspinall]

I mean, athletes are always looking for more money.

[Interviewer]

Agreed. I get that. But there's a difference between asking for more money and actually being paid what you're worth.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. I think that if you're risking your health, you should get paid the absolute maximum possible, is what I think. And, yeah, I mean, it's. There's been so many times, like, throughout the years, where money's not even coming to the equation for me, because I'm just so hungry to fight that that's what I want to do.

[Interviewer]

But now you look after your family. Got to look after your future.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And it's a short career.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, exactly. Especially it's difficult because for fighters, there's only one place to go, really, if you want to be the best in the world, and that's the ufc. But I would like everyone to get paid as much as possible. Not just me, everybody.

[Interviewer]

Well, give me. Give me, like, a range. Like, I like. I've seen, like, boxers. Right. Let's talk about boxing. You know, it's a different sport. I get it's different scenarios, understandably. Maybe it's a wider audience, lots of different things, but they can be paid towards 100 million.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, that's great. If someone wants to pay me that, I'm absolutely down. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You'd fight Jake?

[Tom Aspinall]

I fight three people for that at the same time.

[Interviewer]

Your dad was a, or is a. He's a jiu jitsu coach, wasn't he?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So when did you first start fighting?

[Tom Aspinall]

I first started training, so I feel like a lot of people in it. So MMA when I first started training was like way different to what it is now. We're talking. I'm 33, I've been training since I was about 10ish. Yeah, maybe less. It's hard to say when I've really first started training because I used to go to the gym with my dad just because I didn't really have much else to do, but it was, it was way. It's difficult for people to imagine now. So in them days it wasn't like there's professional fighters, regular people who do fighting, training, and then like a kids class between 10 and 16 and then at under 10, like it wasn't like that. It was literally a load of guys between the 30s and 50s meeting up to have a fight in like some worn down gym and that was it, do you know what I mean? It wasn't like there wasn't like professional athletes really doing it then we're talking like, yeah, over 20 years ago. So like I just started going to the gym with my dad to just, I don't know, I had nothing else to do, so I was just going to the gym, watching, training, kicking a football around at the side of the mat and stuff like that. And I was always like involved with it. But I was also kind of training with guys who were, because you said between the age of 25 and 50, do you know what I mean? And I was 10, so it was like a bit, I don't. When I actually really started with them, like moving around with them, but they would like to take it very easy on me, do you know what I mean? And then when I was probably about 15, 14, 15, that's probably when I started actual serious training because that, that

[Interviewer]

from that young age, that like 10 years old, that's that kind of muscle memory, you feel the way you move, you feel what it's like you kind of like you, you grow up in that environment, it's kind of within you, that means.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Do you know what I see? My dad is like really clever guy in ways that I only realize now because he now, like, plays with my kids, and he is sneakily teaching them how to fight without them realizing it. And I feel like that's what he did with me. Like, explain to you just like, little games that they play and, like little balance exercises they'll do and stuff like that. I didn't realize at the time he was, like, teaching me how to fight. But now when I watch it with my kids, I'm like, they're actually learning how to fight and they don't even know it. They just think they're playing a game.

[Interviewer]

Because your dad was one of the first jiu jitsu black belts in the uk, right?

[Tom Aspinall]

That's right, yeah.

[Interviewer]

Which, which for anyone who doesn't understand, like, the. How the belt sort of scheme works, you start as a white belt.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And then you go up different colors to. You get to a black belt. Right, exactly. But getting to a black belt takes how many years typically?

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, it can take usually about 10, 12, 15, something like that. Especially then. It was way different then. It was way different. It was. It was not like it's even in my time doing IT, which is 20 ish years. MMA has just changed massively. It's so different than it used to be in this country.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. It's just so big now. Like every. Every way. Like every town that you're in, there's an MMA gym. 20 years ago, you couldn't even find anywhere to train MMA. It was way different.

[Interviewer]

Do you think your dad always wanted you to be a fighter?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yes. Yes. But I wouldn't want the same for my kids.

[Interviewer]

Explain that to me.

[Tom Aspinall]

It's a tough support, mate. It's tough. And I'm like, one of the very lucky ones. So we're watching a local show. I say, recently it was. It wasn't recently. It was probably like six months ago now, maybe a little bit longer.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

I took my friend and he'd never like, an MMA show before, really. You see my fights and stuff on the tv, but he'd never been to, like, a local shop. And there was maybe 12 fights on the card, so 24 fighters. And he was like, you just asked me, so how many of these guys on, on this event will, like, be able to buy a house from fighting? And I was like, you know what? Probably not. Like, it's really rare that anybody makes any kind of, like, money, especially, like, generational wealth from it. So I class myself very lucky. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I heard that your first ever fight that you did, you got paid £200 around that.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. Might have been Less might have been

[Interviewer]

150 to go into like a, like a cage do MMA.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, it was a crazy show. So I remember I was warming up and when you, when you're in the, like the change rooms to warm up, that's like the time when you're mainly getting your mind ready to what's going to happen. I was warming up and I remember these kids were in the change room and they were like playing catch with a pad, you know, like a, like a, like pads that light through. And I was just like, what is going on then? Yeah, just different times. Like in them days, it was just way different than what it is now. It's changed so much.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Apparently growing up, you were. You weren't even that tall. And then you got. You had a growth spurt.

[Tom Aspinall]

That's right. That's right.

[Interviewer]

So 16, 17, you suddenly grew from

[Tom Aspinall]

five foot eight around that. Yeah, something like that.

[Interviewer]

To six foot five.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. I don't know how that happened. I don't know, me. So how old are you?

[Interviewer]

18.

[Tom Aspinall]

I think your, your chance has gone on it. But yeah, you know what? My, my brother was tall. My brother's like the same height as me around that. He was tall. Like way earlier. I only got tall. But you know what? When it comes to fighting, I think it helped me a lot because I like what I was like. I learned to fight like a small guy.

[Interviewer]

Explain that to me. Who doesn't understand.

[Tom Aspinall]

Right. So if a guy my size walks into a gym off the street.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Generally speaking, they'll be able to have a lot of holes in the game technically, because they'll be able to get away with doing stuff wrong. Because they're so much bigger than everybody else.

[Interviewer]

Right. So they have the power over.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. Does it, does that make sense?

[Interviewer]

Like, it makes total sense.

[Tom Aspinall]

Because the, because the way more. Because he got a lot bigger physical attributes than everybody else.

[Interviewer]

Got it.

[Tom Aspinall]

They will have holes technically in the game because they're able to compensate the holes with physicality. Whereas when I was small, I wasn't very physical at all. So I had to learn the right. The quote unquote, right way technique to do it. Exactly. Yeah. And I think that helped me in the long term.

[Interviewer]

That's so interesting. So you had to learn how to fight properly. You just couldn't use your weight and your size.

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, that's one of the advantages of starting as a small guy as a kid. Yeah. Because a lot of big guys, like, especially around my area, people will play rugby and then come to fighting after that's. Generally what happens. Or they'll do something physical before and they'll already be so big and strong that they can. They can dominate most guys without even having any technique, just because they're big and strong. But I didn't have that because I was small and, well, small. I had to rely on technique. So when I grew was when I got big and strong, physical and technique as well. Obviously, that helps a lot.

[Interviewer]

What was your backup plan if you didn't make it?

[Tom Aspinall]

Didn't have one.

[Interviewer]

There was no plan.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

No.

[Tom Aspinall]

I had a little bit, like, I worked a few jobs and stuff, did a little bit of studying, but a little bit, let's say that very loosely, but everything that I was doing was just towards me doing what I'm doing now, basically. It was all just like funding everything. Funding the dream? Yeah, pretty much.

[Interviewer]

Parents together?

[Tom Aspinall]

Parents together. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Did your mum ever watch your fights?

[Tom Aspinall]

Mom's been to one of my fights when I fought in Manchester, which was a couple of years ago now. But because I'm fighting, like, international all the time.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

And she was just like, this is probably the only time I'm gonna watch. I don't think she actually watched the fight, but she was in the arena. Excuse me. To be fair, there's not a chance I watch my kids fight either. So I respect. Listen, cage fighting isn't for everybody. And I completely get it. It's not everybody's cup of tea. Same way tennis isn't everyone's cup of tea. Same way rugby's not someone's cup of tea. Ping pong, volleyball, it goes on and on, like, I ain't gonna watch a game of volleyball. It's not my scene. But the same for mma. It's not for everybody.

[Interviewer]

What was life like away from the gym, away from training, away from fighting? Like. Like happy, like good, like friends, everything like that.

[Tom Aspinall]

Was it.

[Interviewer]

Was it a good life? Good.

[Tom Aspinall]

I mean, predominantly, your best friendships are the people you spend the most time with, aren't they?

[Interviewer]

100%.

[Tom Aspinall]

So a lot of my friends are predominantly MMA fighters or in the MMA world. But I do have friends outside as well. And not just. I don't just befriend cage fighters only, but, yeah, all good. Yeah. Nothing to. Nothing to complain about because you gave

[Interviewer]

a great quote, which is where people. It's something like you say, people see success, but success takes years to make. And a lot of people don't realize that that actually takes the time that you were when you were 10 years old. Right. When you go to the gym with your dad to where you are now, they just see you now, but you don't. Don't see the years of the training, the commitment and the sacrifice you have to go through the whole time.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. Not just landed here by chance, which is. It's weird, though. Like, only the people who are not willing to sacrifice all that stuff will say that. Do you know what I mean? It's like anybody. This is what I found more and more over the years is like anybody with any success respects everybody else who's got any kind of success as well. It's like the people who haven't got, you know, they don't have a lot of money. They always automatically think that the people, the people who have money have a really good life. And it just isn't always the case. And it's the same like with successes. Like, I would never understand somebody who's never put themselves out there and been through what I've been through to understand what, what it's like to be here. Do you know what I mean?

[Interviewer]

And. But talk me through that personal sacrifice. What sacrifice did you have to make?

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, a lot. You have to sacrifice my body a lot of the time. Yeah. Yeah. I've got a lot of injuries, same as any sports person. You know what I mean? I've been training for a bit of professional sports person all my adult life. So, yeah, you pick up injuries along the way. Obviously, financially was tough for a long time. Yeah, that was tough.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Interviewer]

youm had kids pretty young. Yeah. You had kids at 23 years old?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

What's harder, do you think, becoming a UFC champion or raising your kids?

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, that's a good question. Raising kids is not easy. I don't know. You know, I see some people,

[Interviewer]

so

[Tom Aspinall]

I got, like, friends who have got kids, and anytime somebody says to me, like, the kids are amazing, which obviously you think your kids are amazing. Don't get me wrong. 100 but anybody who just says positive stuff about the kids, I'm always thinking like, yeah, you're not around enough, honestly. And I'm just like, yeah, like, having kids is hard work, man. If you, like, care about raising them properly. I think it's really hard.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

I really try. Like, that's my most important project in life, is to try and make my kids as good as possible.

[Interviewer]

Why is that so important to you?

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't know. I don't, like, why not? Why would it not be?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, because. No, the question, the reason I asked that is this, is that I was speaking to a friend of mine. He's called Amal Rajan. Right. He's a sort of journalist interviewer, and he has a podcast where he talks to different people. And he was saying to me that the majority of men he interviews and he asks them what their biggest regret is in life, the majority of the answer is they weren't around enough when their kids were young.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And they can't change that 25 years later, 30 years later, 15 years later, whatever it is, they missed it. And they always say that. But you subconsciously will, without knowing, know that you want to be there with your kids, raising them up. And then the side of that is like, okay, this is my job. I'm a fighter. But most people swap around and go, no success in my. In my business life. That's what I want to achieve. More over than family life.

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, it depends. It depends the way you look at it, because some people need. And I think I'm one of these people as well. Like, if I wasn't, like, chasing success, I wouldn't be the person at home that I am now because I. I would, like, feel unfulfilled. Do you know what I mean? So I feel like I need to be achieving because I was actually speaking about this yesterday with Joel Mahler. Big shout out to Joe Mala.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

We were talking about it and he said he was kind of kidding himself in his rugby career, where he's like, to his wife and kids, like, I'm doing this for you. And I definitely have been guilty of that, being, like, to my kids, I'm doing this for you. Like, I want to give you a nice house and a good place to grow up in. But ultimately I'm doing it for me, to be honest. But I think that I'm like, as a. As a subject of that, like something that subconsciously they get from it is like, I'm, like, mentally fulfilled through chasing this goal that I've got. So I'm better at home with them, if that makes sense.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Because you don't have an itch.

[Tom Aspinall]

If I was going to a job every day that I hated, say I was digging up roads, for example. If I'm digging up a road all day, I'm going to be getting back and pissed off.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

And I'm not going to be the best dad for my kids.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Because I'm doing something that I hate every day, and then I'm doing it for them. But I also maybe, like, subconsciously I'm pissed off with them because I'm doing something all day that I don't like, if that makes sense.

[Interviewer]

It makes perfect sense. What you're saying is, which is so true, is that when you're fulfilled in your own personal life, you can become a better parent because you've achieved what you want to achieve.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Otherwise, if you're constantly chasing that, you're not going to feel fulfilled, and then you're going to be irritated at home because you're not fulfilling what you want to fulfill. Fulfill.

[Tom Aspinall]

I said there'll be people listening and thinking, what are you talking about?

[Interviewer]

No, but I actually don't think that time. I think people would agree. I think. I think if people really put a mirror on themselves a lot of the time, and I think it's fair to say, is that the reason made. Maybe they're not present at home or not present with their friends or their family or their kids or whatever it is. Could be anyone. It's probably because they're trying to scratch. Scratch an itch they haven't scratched yet.

[Tom Aspinall]

I struggle with not being present, though.

[Interviewer]

Oh, yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

I struggle with that. Bad. Especially home. Gotta be better at it. Like, I spend a lot of time at home and I do that. Like, I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I can be at home basically as much as I want or a lot of the time.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

And sometimes I'm just not present enough, man. I've got to be better.

[Interviewer]

What are you doing? What are you doing? You're not being present. What are you thinking about?

[Tom Aspinall]

Everything. Scrolling. Which is a terrible habit to have.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Trying my best to get rid of that. Leaving the phone upstairs first. Me good. Do you know, I usually go for that and just, like, thinking about other stuff rather than just being present and being in the room. I've got to be way better at that. That's something I'm trying to work on.

[Interviewer]

Tom, what I find amazing about you as well is that, like, even in this short conversation, how open and honest you are about stuff.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Right.

[Interviewer]

And what I love is that you're. So you were open about your son's autism.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And the way that you discovered, if I'm right, is that you're watching Paddy McGinnis and his wife TV show.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. Oh, you've done good research. Fair play. Yeah. So it was. So my twins were born 2019, just before COVID Hit.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

And I've got an older son as well. And, like, everybody gets hung up on this, like, milestones thing with a kid. Like, oh, is your kid talking at this age? Are they walking at this age? Are they crawling at this age? Are they doing this? Or whatever. So we have my twins just before COVID and we started noticing that, like, one was a little bit slower than the other was stuff.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

And

[Tom Aspinall]

that that's what you do with twins anyway, is you constantly compare them. Do you know what I mean? Oh, he's doing this. This one's not doing this. This one's doing this. And we were doing a bit of that, but then my wife started saying, like, got to the age where they're kind of, like, starting to talk and respond and Stuff like that. And my wife got to the stage and she was like, yeah, he's. I think he's like quite behind with stuff. And I was like, no, we're in like we were like two, two years inside, pretty much. Like we've barely seen anybody apart from we see my parents, you know, every now and again because they kept putting these lockdowns in and then they had like no, like real outside the house experience, if that.

[Interviewer]

Wow.

[Tom Aspinall]

It was really weird. Yeah, it was like did let us out for a couple of weeks and we'd go and see people and then another lockdown would start with it. So we thought that like he was delayed a bit because of that. And then we start. You obviously do the thing where you start googling and they're like twins are slower than everybody else and you know, they don't get as much one on one attention and etc. So I was like buying into that, what I was reading and I was like, look, it's just because of the lockdown. It's just because he's a twin. This, that and the other. I'm not worried about it. Blah, blah. I think I was pretty much in denial at that stage because I'm also

[Interviewer]

sleep deprived and everything.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, there was a lot going on. And then this was a really weird time for me in my personal life as well. Like in my professional life. Sorry. Because I was like flying everywhere to fight and the world was like still on lockdown and it was just a really weird time for me.

[Interviewer]

So you're fighting in front of people, but there's no audiences.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, there's no audiences. Yeah, yeah. So I was like flying to Vegas, flying to Abu Dhabi and fighting in front of like having fights with people in empty rooms basically.

[Interviewer]

Which just feels like an organized.

[Tom Aspinall]

It was so. It was so weird. It's such a weird time in my life. But anyway, we started just by chance, Paddy McGuinness, who had. I know Paddy now. This was like years ago and watched his documentary about autism. Paddy's got three kids that have got autism.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

And it was just all about the different ways autism presents itself, the way it affects your life. And yeah, just I knew absolutely nothing on autism at the time. And yeah, I was watching all this different stuff. And honestly, I could have been finishing the sentences for Paddy and his wife when I was watching. I was like, wow, no way. Anyway, fast forward a little bit further. I actually did a. Did you know a question Sport? The game show.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Patty was hosting. I don't know if it's still going, actually, that question, sport. But anyway, I was on it, Paddy was hosting it, met Paddy for the first time and I asked him about it. I said, listen, I've watched your documentary and I think there's like some signs of my son having autism. Can you help? Like, what, what shall I do? I literally didn't know what to do, like, what do I do? And he was like, give me, give me the lady's number. And he was like, honestly, doesn't matter if they get diagnosed or not. It doesn't matter if you put a label on them or not. The thing is, when they get diagnosis, they'll get help instantly, pretty much. So give me the number. Anyway, this is fast forward in like quite a long time, maybe like 18 months. And I went through all the diagnosis stuff. I had to pay for it privately as well, which I'm completely aware that, like not many people are in that position where they can afford to pay it privately. So I'm very lucky on that.

[Interviewer]

Expensive.

[Tom Aspinall]

It was expensive, yeah. Just for like. I think it was. I can't remember the exact price. I'd love to. I don't want to say it and it'd be wrong, but it was expensive. I know that it was. I think it was around the five, six grand mark. I think it's a lot of money.

[Interviewer]

It's a lot of money.

[Tom Aspinall]

So much money.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Because believe it or not. So I'm just gonna go on a bit of a tangent, okay. We tried to get him diagnosed on the nhs, right?

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

We've still not been for appointment and it was five years ago. We've still not. We've still not been for a diagnosis appointment and we've not let the NHS know that he's been diagnosed. So anyway, back to there.

[Interviewer]

Hang on a second.

[Tom Aspinall]

It's crazy. The issue that we've got is, I don't know if it's the NHS or the government or whoever because like now my son is in a regular school but he's got like a one on one with him all day. So he's got like somebody who helps him. So if he gets like, if he doesn't understand what's going on, he gets overwhelmed or autism presents itself in loads of different ways. So everyone's unique, but the one on one teacher is there for him to help him if he needs it all day, which is amazing. That's absolutely amazing. But that is only because we got a diagnosis if he was to be in the regular school. Now that he's in, he's been There two years or three years, he wouldn't have coped like he wouldn't occult without a one to one. And you can only get a one to one if you got a diagnosis. And I'm completely aware that not everybody has got the five or six grand, however much it costs to get them diagnosed. So these people, these families out there who have got absolutely no idea on what to do with the kids, they're getting no help at school, they're getting no help socially, they're getting no help educationally, they're literally sat at home with absolutely no guidance on how to deal with autism, how the future is going to look. The steps are put in place, they don't know anything because they can't even get an appointment to get the kids seen by anybody related to autism. So that's the reason I talk about it, because I'm completely aware. Look, I'm from a blue collar background. I've been through times where I've had absolutely no money in the bank and I've had to borrow money from people all over the place. I'm completely aware that not everybody's got that money to pay. And I know families personally. People come up to me all the time in the street and talk about it and ask for how to get a diagnosis without paying. And I have no idea other other than talk about it every time I can, man.

[Interviewer]

Firstly, thank you for sharing dude, because that's like. Yeah, I think that this conversation is super important and that's so upsetting to imagine that there are kids out there in schools that haven't got a diagnosis and they're probably having a tough time in school.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. And there's a lot of them. Honestly like, like I said, I go everywhere I go, someone talks to me about autism everywhere. And like I don't, I'm not banging the drum all the time.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Do you know what I mean? I've just mentioned it on a couple of interviews.

[Interviewer]

Totally.

[Tom Aspinall]

People need like, families need help. It's as simple as that. Families desperately need help. And look, autism is what it is. You're not going to be able to change the, the person who's got autism. The way they operate, the main, the mind works and everything. Look, they are what they are and everyone's got their own little ways and little ways around stuff and the way the mind works and everything. But what can help is the day to day life of the families can make it a lot easier for everybody, including the child or adult to help them like navigate through life. And they're just not getting it.

[Interviewer]

When you. When you watch that documentary and you then got your son's diagnosis, did it help you understand it? Or was it relief? Or was it what. What did you feel?

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, it's difficult because I used to look at autism in a different way. I used to look at it like a disability, which I guess it is class. I don't know if it is, actually, but. And I used to think, no, that's. My son's not disabled. Do you know what I mean? I used to look at it like that. And it's not like you just learn that that's the way it is and that's the way they're going to be. The mind works in their own way and you have to, like, navigate your way around that. Like I said, it's never. Because I see people, like, even in comment sections on stuff about autism, people's like, oh, everyone's looking for, like, some diagnosis or like some ADHD next to the name or some auto. Like, it's not about putting a label on somebody. It's about getting people the help that they need. Is nothing to do with. Somebody walk around and say, oh, yeah, well, I can't do this because I'm autistic. It's nothing to do with that. It's to do with helping the child and the families navigate a proper path through life. And that's what people don't seem to understand sometimes.

[Interviewer]

I had H. Who, you know, on the show. I love H, man. He's so great. He. His sister has down syndrome. He speaks so beautifully about her. And he was talking to me about how his sister Gracie changed his life in the most incredible way. And people who are naive to understand it or fearful of all these things actually don't even know how their life becomes like a flower. It, like blossoms open and you see life in a different way. And I imagine that's what happened with your son.

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, definitely. Like, honestly, my son, my three kids, meow. I say this all the time. He is, like, the easiest kid to. He's just so lovely all the time. And my other ones are running around pissing me off. So why can't be like him? He's just sat there and he's just enjoying himself and he's not. Don't like. He's just so nice. But, yeah, it's such a. It's difficult to say because everybody's. Autism presents itself in a whole massive spectrum of different ways, but the ways that he's got is the most beautiful thing ever. He's so lovely.

[Interviewer]

If someone's listening right now. Right. Who perhaps really needs that advice. Is there any particular advice that you had always given or you could say to them that could maybe navigate their journey at the moment?

[Tom Aspinall]

I think you just got. It's difficult because everyone's going to process things differently, aren't they? Like I said, I was. I was on the. I was on the team of. No, that's not happening. He's not autistic. There's nothing wrong with him.

[Interviewer]

Denial.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Totally get it.

[Tom Aspinall]

That's the way I was. But I think you just got to try and understand and, like, I have not completed the autism mission by any. Like, it's going to be an ongoing thing for the rest of our lives, and things are going to change. And one day is good or one day's bad, and one day they like this, and one day they don't like this, and it's constantly, like, ebbing and flowing. Constantly. But I think you just got to try and make it the best for everybody that it can be, and that that's the only way you can get through. I think anything in life. You know, there's good and bad situations in all life, but you gotta try and make the best of it, I think.

[Interviewer]

Man, I Love that attitude. 100%. Your wife must be.

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, she's an angel superstar. Yeah, she's an absolute angel. I'd be. Yeah, she's. I wouldn't be anywhere near close to my position if it wasn't for her.

[Interviewer]

What's the. What's the best thing about your wife?

[Tom Aspinall]

The best thing about her is that's a great qu. I'd be here all day naming him, I think. But I think she is the kindest person I've ever met on something that she does really well, though. And I don't think this is the best thing about her, by the way. I just think this is something that I respect a lot.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Is if something's, like, not. She can cut stuff off really good, like, really quick. If something's getting in the way of the family or distracting the family or somebody's negative around, she can just cut them off. And I. I've got a lot of respect for that. I wish I was better at that. That's something. I look at her and I'm like, good at that.

[Interviewer]

Why? Because you. You have to hold on to things a bit more.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. I just think she's just. She's lived a completely different life to me, and I don't want to talk about her life Too much because she. She doesn't like the public eye stuff at all. So I respect that completely.

[Interviewer]

100.

[Tom Aspinall]

So I won't talk about life, but her life's been completely different to mine. If something isn't serving her happiness or if someone isn't kind to her or isn't kind to our family or isn't coming with the right energy, she cut it off like that. And I just think that is amazing to be able to do that.

[Interviewer]

Man, that is mad respect.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. And I just think I need. I need to learn from that a little bit because I've sometimes maybe held on to things too long or kept people around too long who are not in the right for the right reason stuff. And I think that sometimes, yeah, she's really good at just being like, that's not helping. Let's just leave it there.

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[Tom Aspinall]

Monday.com AI agents took over my work and I absolutely love it. Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. Agents handle the daily grind. Now I stay in the loop only when it matters. Create your own AI agent in minutes on Monday dot com.

[Interviewer]

Let's talk about your career.

[Tom Aspinall]

I've had a bit of a weird career, to be honest. Still ongoing. It's been very. I've had big hiatuses in my career.

[Interviewer]

I'm going to give you the 15 wins.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

Three losses.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

Forget about this.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yep. Listen, they happen. You learn from them. You Move forward. I'm thankful for the losses, you know, 100.

[Interviewer]

We learned from them, baby.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

I get it.

[Interviewer]

Yep. 12 year wins were won in under 1 minute, 35 seconds.

[Tom Aspinall]

I didn't know that. It's a good start, though. Yeah, I might put that on the Instagram bio. That's a good.

[Interviewer]

Who's been your toughest opponent? Truthfully,

[Tom Aspinall]

it's a good question. Had a fight pretty early on, I think it was in my third UFC fight, I think against a guy called Andre Olofsky. Yeah, he was like a former hero of mine. He was a former champion himself as well. When we fought, he was like 40ish, I think. So, you know, he's a little bit. A little bit older. He was coming off a big win streak and I. I'd not really, like, got my feet wet yet. Do you know what I mean? It was like a massive occasion for me. First time fighting in Vegas as well. That was big, but it was actually in covert, so it was like, a bit weird. I did fight, like, with about 500 people watching, so it wasn't like a big stadium or anything. In that fight, I got. It's weird to talk about eye stuff, but I did get punched in the eye and I couldn't see for most of the fight.

[Interviewer]

Same eye.

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, my last. My last fight was both eyes, so. But, yeah, it was my right eye, I think. I can't remember. But, yeah, most of the fight I actually couldn't see, so that was a bit weird as well. But, yeah, that was a tough fight

[Interviewer]

because he was just tough and he's. And he's been through it, so he gets.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, not because he was tough, more because of who he was and where I was at the time. Yeah, like, at the time I was like, nobody really knew me. And he was like. Even though he's a bit older, he was still on a winning streak at the time when I fought him and he was still ranked and I knew who he was and followed his career and stuff like that.

[Interviewer]

And so that feels like more pressure, right? Because it's like, well, this. This person is. This is a hero of mine.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And now I'm about to fight him.

[Tom Aspinall]

That was weird.

[Interviewer]

That's like a. It's like, it's. Yeah, you shouldn't be. You should never. You should never meet your heroes. I don't even fight them.

[Tom Aspinall]

That is weird because I look through all my fights and I remember it's weird because I don't. Maybe this is because fighting's so important to me, but I Forget a lot of milestones in my life and where I was and what I was doing and who I was with and stuff like that. But if you take me to any fight, I can tell you exactly what happened in the fight week. Can you really? Yeah, exactly who was there, exactly who I spoke to, the conversations that I had, how I felt, and I can remember everything about every fight.

[Interviewer]

When you walk out into the ring, right, like, and there's a big crowd, they're not during COVID time. What is that feeling like?

[Tom Aspinall]

It's crazy. So I had, like, the way my career worked, it was really weird. So I had four fights in covert. Four UFC fights in covert?

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

My fifth fight, they main evented me at the O2 in London. So I went from fighting in front of nobody to fight in front of 22, 000 or whatever it is in. In London. Like, it was literally just as the world opened. So, like, they opened the country and then booked, like, the. The fight. So I wasn't like, walking around the streets freely. Like, I'd not. I was in covered, and then I was in a training camp, and then I was going to fight. So I didn't really realize how to be, like, in the public eye at all. I never, never really experienced that. And what they do in the UFC is when you're in the changing rooms, they have, like a TV and change rooms. Yeah, of the fight. So they show on the tv. Well, they would show to people at home.

[Interviewer]

Like, you're seeing all the previous.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, yeah. And obviously you hear the crowd cheering and stuff, so you automatically just look at the tv. Do you know what I mean? Like, if the crowd starts roaring, you're like, oh, who's been knocked out? You know, I mean, automatically look at the tv and I heard this massive Raw, like, massive to the point where, like, I could feel the wall shaking in the. And I was like, what? What? Like, who's been knocked out really badly? And I looked up at the TV and they were showing a video of me walking into the building. It was crazy. I couldn't believe it. I was like. And I. I even asked one of the guy, are they showing that on the screen, like, out there? He's like, yeah, that's what they're showing. So people were cheering that much. Just for me, like, walking into the building, I was like, no way are people screaming like that. Just for me walking in, I couldn't believe it. And then, yeah, you walk out, and it's just insane. People are just, like, hanging over the side to touch You. It's like. Yeah, it's really weird. It's a strange experience. Strange. I can't describe it. Like, I feel like if I was walking out like that and I didn't have to fight somebody at the end of it, I would be having the time of my life. Yeah. But because I'm like walking out and then I'm aware, oh, my opponent's actually waiting for me there. Like, it's. You just kind of like focused on the fight, I guess.

[Interviewer]

Do you know what's so amazing? It's like you're, you forget you're a fan of the sport. Like, like that's what's strange. Like you're, you're sitting in the changing room getting ready for your fight, but you're also watching the tv, wondering what's happened. You're just like anyone else, but you're, you're the main event. And then of course you're gonna find it weird when they're your, you go up in the screen, everyone starts cheering you. Yeah, weird when you're going out and people are dying trying to grab you because you're just Tom, who started fighting or like training at age of 10, and suddenly you're in front of 22, 000 people fighting for the heavyweight, like championship. Like, that's just crazy.

[Tom Aspinall]

And that is, that's something that I'm still learning about is like, Since I was 10, I've been taught by my dad and multiple other coaches on how to fight people. I know how to do that. I think I'm in a spot where I say I'm pretty good at it. I know like, what happened, you know, how to defend myself, how to punch them, how to take them down, how to escape off the bottom. And all the, all the stuff on how to fight, what nobody ever taught me is like, how to deal with like big groups of people who want your attention. I don't, like, I'm still like learning that. That's really, that's still like super, like weird to me. I've got a lot of friends who are fighters as well, of course, who are super famous fighters. More famous than me, a lot of them. But they're also regular sized people. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm very big and I'm quite easy to spot. Very easy spot. Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer]

It's the height and maybe the tattoos.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, There's a lot, there's a lot going on there. There's a lot of things people will spot me out of a crowd generally. So, yeah, they could Blend in a little bit more.

[Interviewer]

And also, there's something about. There's something about fighters which is so mysterious and so exciting and so exhilarating that you want to meet them.

[Tom Aspinall]

You.

[Interviewer]

You want to. You want to be in their presence. You want to talk to them, you want to ask them questions.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. People. People are very nice to me, though. I don't want to come across like I'm unappreciated. No, you're not at all. Like, I'm. People are generally really, really super, like, loving and nice everywhere I go. So I'm not complaining. I'm just saying it takes some getting used to. You.

[Interviewer]

You brought us a gift, which is your belt.

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, you put it on the floor, it's not very nice.

[Interviewer]

Can I get it out?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, of course.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, go for it.

[Interviewer]

Jesus Christ. For anyone who's listening to this, go to our YouTube and check this out. I'm gonna. Can I open it up? Open it.

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, that's all right. It's a. It's a replica, anyway. Well, I will not tell people. But it's not real.

[Interviewer]

I'm not gonna say that. Anyway. It's not a replica.

[Tom Aspinall]

What's good? Nice belt.

[Ad/Promo Voice]

Holy

[Interviewer]

man. When this gets wrapped around you.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And you're standing in the ring and you. You've done your battle, and this gets put around your waist, and suddenly they announce that you're the heavyweight champion of the world, what is the feeling like?

[Tom Aspinall]

Relief is the only feel that's the main thing that I feel after every fight. Yeah. Just relieved.

[Interviewer]

Relief that it's over. Relief that you're okay.

[Tom Aspinall]

Relief that it's not me on the floor. Yeah. Honestly, that's like the. The best. The best way I can describe when it is edge. Relief.

[Interviewer]

That is mad. That is just heavy.

[Tom Aspinall]

And everything looks good.

[Interviewer]

I can't get over this. Do you still just. Is it still weird? Do you realize that you're.

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't know. I don't think you think about it often, to be honest. I still feel like I've got a lot more stuff to do, to be honest. I don't feel like I get that.

[Interviewer]

Two things here. Firstly, Jon Jones, one of the greatest ufc. One of the greatest athletes.

[Tom Aspinall]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer]

Absolute monster.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I'm an incredible fighter.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Right. Also left the UFC because of his own personal reasons and other stuff.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Then came back and complete dominated again, became heavyweight champion and then retired and didn't want to fight you.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yep.

[Interviewer]

Which seems. How do you feel? Where do you land on that?

[Tom Aspinall]

Look, it is what it is. Everyone's got their own reasons for stuff. At the time, I was just desperately trying to get the fight because I wanted to get the title off him. Yeah, I think, I think a lot of people kind of got it confused why I wanted to. I was never going after Jon Jones. I was going after the title, simple as that. I wanted to be the best in the world and I wasn't given the chance to fight John Jones. I would have loved to fought one of the best, but I wasn't given the chance and I don't think it'll ever happen now. So it is what it is.

[Interviewer]

It's interesting, right, because you speak about that, like, fear that you get and that Jon Jones is a monster.

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, he's an absolute beast. Which is why I wanted to find. Because I want to fight the best. I want to fight the best. Yeah, I don't want to. You know, there's not really much fun in fighting guys who everyone thinks that you're going to be. You know what I mean? It's not fun. It doesn't. You actually don't achieve anything from it.

[Interviewer]

It's such, it's. But I get your point. But it's such a juxtaposition, right, because at one side you're like, there's this fear and there's this relief. But actually you still want to fight the best.

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, yeah, of course I do. I want to be the best in the world. I don't want to be.

[Interviewer]

You can be. You can be the best in the world. Maybe not finding the best, but you want to fight the best because.

[Tom Aspinall]

Of course. Yeah, yeah. And I think that's where a lot of people kind of got that confused when I was trying to fight Jon Jones. Like, I want to fight the best guy. People are saying, the best guy ever. Listen, he could absolutely kick my ass. But at least I tried.

[Interviewer]

What do you think drives you forward?

[Tom Aspinall]

I'm super competitive, super. But, you know, I just think I really enjoy it more than anything else. I think the goals that I actually had, I actually didn't. My main, main, main goal for me was to buy a house. That was my absolute, like, top of the top was to buy a house. That was my main thing. And then obviously, like, being the best in the world, but that kind of like came secondary to buying a house. That's what I really wanted to do is like, I know people like. Like, I'm from, like a pretty small town the outside of Manchester, where everyone's working class and blue collar and all the rest of it. Like some of my friends, dads and mums and dads, even now, they've not paid the house off. Like, for me to be able to do that in my 20s, that was like the ultimate dream from doing something that I don't even really consider a real job. Do you know what I mean? So that was the goal. And then obviously being the best title and all that, that came way secondary. But for now it's just, I don't know, I want to be proud of myself. I think I want my kids to be able to look at me and think, like, yeah, that was my dad who did that, man.

[Interviewer]

I have no doubt that's gonna, if it hasn't happened already, that's gonna happen. And the fact that I can't even imagine being your dad and watching you fight, having like trained you up, managed you, everything, and then seeing the success you're having.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, he's, he knows what he's doing, to say the least. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So you're gonna return to fighting?

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, yeah, that's the plan. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, definitely.

[Interviewer]

Who do you think you're gonna.

[Tom Aspinall]

Well, I'm gonna fight the winner of. I don't know when this podcast out, but the, the Cyril Organis fighting Alex Pereira. Alex pro, amazing champion, by the way. This is, this is. If he wins this, even though it's an interim title, it'll be the first guy to hold a belt at three weight divisions. So he fought a middleweight, won the title, light heavyweight, won the title, and now he's moving up to heavyweight. If he can do that, he's a monster. He's an absolute beast. He's an ABs. One of the greats, One of the greats of the sport. He's fighting Sir Organ, who I've just fought. So the winner of that, I'll probably fight them when.

[Interviewer]

Do you think there will be timeline

[Tom Aspinall]

if you would have to fight this year? Yeah, but I think it's really important that health comes first. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's got to be right for everybody and like, I'm not rushing for nobody. When it's right for me, I'll like, I'll do it, I'll 100 do it, but it's got to be right.

[Interviewer]

Can we talk about the Inner Game, your new podcast? Oh, yeah, you do with your friend Charlie, is that right?

[Tom Aspinall]

That's right.

[Interviewer]

Tell me what, what's about, what do you talk about?

[Tom Aspinall]

So, like I said, I've been involved in MMA since I was around 10ish 33 now. So that's a lot. That's a big portion of my life. So a lot. A lot of that time has been spent with people who do mma. The podcast is something completely away from me. This is about different, successful people in different fields, and it's also about, like, the mindset it took to get them there, what fuels them, the fears that they've got, the anxieties that they've got. You know what? Actually we interviewed. Well, it was not an interview. We did the podcast with different people from all different stuff from music, documentary makers. You know, we had Louis Theroux on there, who's one of my heroes, by the way.

[Interviewer]

Greatest. Isn't he the best.

[Tom Aspinall]

He's amazing. All kinds of different people in different fields who are really successful and really popular and famous and all the rest of it. It's unbelievable how similar everybody is. Unbelievable, though. Couldn't believe it.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, everyone.

[Tom Aspinall]

I learned so much from doing the podcast that I feel like it's really. It's really. I think it's gonna be really interesting people to listen to how many. How many similarities there are in different fields.

[Interviewer]

I mean, we're gonna leave a link to your show in our.

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, thank you.

[Interviewer]

In our show description. Go and check it out. I can't wait to listen. And so can I say, this has been, like, a true honor. Like, I get. Maybe you don't realize that, and maybe you're still in this sort of space being like, you know, do people really like. Why do people care so much? People care about you because you're authentic. You're down to earth. You're a British champion and, man, we fucking love you.

[Tom Aspinall]

Thank you. Appreciate it.

[Interviewer]

You're unbelievable.

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't take compliments very well.

[Interviewer]

No, you don't. I've noticed that. I noticed that. Listen, we'd like to end the conversation with eight quick fire questions. You ready for this?

[Tom Aspinall]

Eight?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, baby.

[Tom Aspinall]

One word answers or whatever you want to do.

[Interviewer]

What's the saying or phrase that makes you smile or cheers you up?

[Tom Aspinall]

When someone I love gives me a compliment, I know, as I said, I don't take confidence very well. But if someone says, like, you did good there, I'd be like, thank you. That makes me feel good.

[Interviewer]

That's my second question. Best compliment anyone's ever given you.

[Tom Aspinall]

Some. I actually got one from my wife, and she said that when you're around, I feel safer. That's the best compliment that anyone could ever give me. I'm a big softy, aren't I? I'm a big Softy. But, yeah, man, I love that.

[Interviewer]

I wish my wife said that about me. She does not.

[Tom Aspinall]

No, no, because I'm like. I'm awake a fair bit. Do you know what I mean? Like, I travel a lot. And she said, last time I came back, I said, everything been going good? She said, yeah, everything's been going great.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

Said, oh, did you miss me? She said, no, I didn't miss you because I still speak to you all, all the time. But she said, when you're around, I feel safer. And I was just like, that's great, that's great. I'm keeping that one.

[Interviewer]

I'm keeping that one in the locker. That's the question. If you. If you. If someone was to start a fight on you, something would happen. Right. And you. And it was outside in public.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Because you're a professional fighter. Are there issues around that?

[Tom Aspinall]

Me and Charlie speaking all the time about it. You'd be surprised how many people start. Start fights with me. It's. It's not regular, but it's. It happens.

[Interviewer]

Are they all right? Well, they think it was usually.

[Tom Aspinall]

No, it usually happens, like, see, the issue I've got, it's like if I'm going somewhere. So if I'm with family, if I'm with kids and stuff, and someone comes over and asks for a picture. Yeah, 99.9 of the time, I'll be like, yeah, absolutely, of course. Let's just do it quick because I'm just with the family. Yeah. Then we'll move on.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Tom Aspinall]

If I'm, like, in a bar, which isn't very often these days, and I'm like, with friends and stuff, having a drink, and someone comes over and says, oh, can I have a picture? I'd be like, yeah, mate, of course. Yeah, we'll do a picture. We'll do a picture. And then they say, when's your next fight, then? And then I tell them when the next fight is. And then they say, but what do you think of this fight coming? It's basically, I just feel like I'm just like, mate, do you mind just.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I'm here.

[Tom Aspinall]

I'm just here with my friends. Can I just. Yeah, and people don't like that. And then people will start saying, well, you think you're better than everybody. And it just goes from there. It just goes from there.

[Interviewer]

And then you spot.

[Tom Aspinall]

No, I don't spot anybody. Right. Then I have to leave. Then I have to leave.

[Interviewer]

Do you really?

[Tom Aspinall]

Can you feel?

[Interviewer]

Can you figure?

[Tom Aspinall]

No, no, I'm not like, an angry person generally. Like, if, obviously if somebody tries to hurt me or my family, I have to defend myself. But I'm not out there looking for trouble with anybody. Like, my demons get exercised on a regular basis in the gym.

[Interviewer]

I think I would absolutely shit myself. If I was a burglar and I broke into your house and I woke you up. I'd be like, so sorry. Whoa. I don't know what I've just done here. Let me back out and I'll fix the window.

[Tom Aspinall]

There's some crazy people out there. But you got. You're not getting my house. You got to get past my dogs first before you get to me. They're way more vicious.

[Interviewer]

What scares you most about yourself?

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, that's a good question. Impulsive decisions.

[Interviewer]

It's a common theme with a lot of people. When was the last time you cried?

[Tom Aspinall]

I wish I could cry more, to be honest.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. Something I struggle with, crying. I wish I could do it more because I always feel better. No, like sometimes if something emotional's happened, I won't cry. I'll just hold it in. I don't. I don't even hold it in purposely. I just don't cry. Yeah, I wish I did more.

[Interviewer]

Maybe there.

[Tom Aspinall]

I can't remember. I can't remember.

[Interviewer]

Well, one thing you should leave is with this, is that you should cry more. It's an emotion you should explore more.

[Tom Aspinall]

I wish I could, you know, sometimes, like.

[Interviewer]

Have you watched Titanic?

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, I cry at films and stuff. I cried at Yellowstone recently.

[Interviewer]

Sorry, the cowboy film. The cowboy series.

[Tom Aspinall]

It's fantastic. Fantastic. It's great.

[Interviewer]

Great. Did you cry?

[Tom Aspinall]

I can't remember. But I do remember. But it wasn't like I wasn't proper crying. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I wasn't like properly crying though. Okay, man, listen, I don't want to properly properly cried.

[Interviewer]

I'm crying at Yellowstone.

[Tom Aspinall]

I'm not sure. Makes great series. Highly recommended.

[Interviewer]

It's the mountains.

[Tom Aspinall]

That's what you love. Fantastic. Love it. It probably is. It's the mountains. Must be.

[Interviewer]

What's something you can't let go of?

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, overthinking.

[Interviewer]

Busy mind, busy mind. What's your guilty pleasure?

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't. I'm not sure I've got one.

[Interviewer]

Nothing.

[Tom Aspinall]

I'm happy with my pleasures. I don't feel like guilty when I do them.

[Interviewer]

Love that.

[Tom Aspinall]

What turns you off when people are rude to other. To the people who are working at a restaurant. That's my stand it.

[Interviewer]

That's my.

[Tom Aspinall]

One can't stand it.

[Interviewer]

That's my worst thing.

[Tom Aspinall]

When they talk down to people, it's just don't do it.

[Interviewer]

Rude to waiters. I hate it.

[Tom Aspinall]

Absolutely hate it.

[Interviewer]

You know what? We had Raymond Blanc on the show. He's a chef. Right. And he saw one of his team members being rude to one of the cleaners.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And so he said, you're now going to work as a cleaner for the whole week.

[Tom Aspinall]

Like it.

[Interviewer]

He was never rude again because he didn't realize how hard they were.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, of course.

[Interviewer]

And his head is back. It was just like I had the biggest respect for anyone who does that. It was unbelievable. What turns you on?

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't know the word for it. Integrity is the word.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Tom Aspinall]

But when you be in integrity, what do you say?

[Interviewer]

When you're being intact, when you're.

[Tom Aspinall]

What's the word?

[Interviewer]

What is it? Yeah, that's it. When you're being yourself.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Staying true to yourself.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like that.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. When you're being authentic self, which I feel like, Tom, you can't be anything but yourself.

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't know. I try to. But I also like something that I'm trying to get better at is like good communication skills in terms of if something's working, tell somebody that it's working. If it's not, tell them it's not.

[Interviewer]

We're taking a compliment. You should start there.

[Tom Aspinall]

Yeah. I don't like them. Don't like them.

[Interviewer]

What do you like most about yourself? It's gonna be hard for you.

[Tom Aspinall]

I don't know.

[Interviewer]

Here we go. A good northern lad telling what they most like about themselves.

[Tom Aspinall]

Great question. What do I like?

[Interviewer]

Disassociate yourself. Just do it properly.

[Tom Aspinall]

I'm. I think I'm quite happy with whatever's got going on. Do you know what I mean? Like, whatever we're doing, I'll try and enjoy it to the fullest.

[Interviewer]

Last one, snog Mario.

[Tom Aspinall]

Void one.

[Interviewer]

Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Dana White.

[Tom Aspinall]

Oh, my God. I'm not getting Mario. I'll avoid all of them. I don't wanna.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah. So wait, you're gonna snog Jon Jones?

[Tom Aspinall]

None of them you're gonna marry. I'm gonna avoid all of them. I don't want to be close to any of them.

[Interviewer]

Tommaso, you're great company, my friend. Thank you so much. Unbelievable, man. You kidding me? That was unbelievable.

[Tom Aspinall]

With my sapphire preferred card, we took

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[Tom Aspinall]

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[Tom Aspinall]

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